So I found some 0 Ohm resistors... I am wondering what the point is? Why would someone use a 0 Ohm resistor in their project?
I have used them instead of jumpers.
I have also used 1 ohm resistors as a fuse.
Thanks. I just talked to Mouser support and they said I could use them as jumper wires, but I was confused why they would even be made. I'm just starting out with electronics and they seemed pointless to me, but I'm sure there is a reason they exist.
Back when I was working on TVs, there were loads of surface mount 0 ohm resistors as jumpers to cross other traces, so they didn't have to put in more through-holes.
In automation these would be accepted easily (just like a regulator resistor) by the insertion machines.
I am wondering what is the smallest Ohm resistor I can put on a breadboard without burning out an LED? I have the LEDs that came with the official starter kit sold on this website.
The starter kit comes with 220 Ohm as the smallest I think, but can you go lower than that, and get a brighter LED without burning it out?
Also, I can't hurt the LED by putting to high of a resistor can I? I put a 10 MOhm on it and it didn't light up at all, but I'm not sure if I damaged it.
If you go much lower than 220 ohms, you stand the risk of not only burning out the LED, but the Arduino output pin as well. 20 mA maximum for either is a good rule. You cannot damage either the LED or the port pin by using too large of a resistor.
Thanks for the links, I was just going to post and ask how to figure out the resistor amount.
Oh, wow, check out this page. I'm going to make some of these.
CSGuy:
I am wondering what is the smallest Ohm resistor I can put on a breadboard without burning out an LED? I have the LEDs that came with the official starter kit sold on this website.The starter kit comes with 220 Ohm as the smallest I think, but can you go lower than that, and get a brighter LED without burning it out?
Also, I can't hurt the LED by putting to high of a resistor can I? I put a 10 MOhm on it and it didn't light up at all, but I'm not sure if I damaged it.
That depends on the led. Color makes a difference because from red to blue takes more volts. Size/rating makes a difference. And if it's a multicolor led, each element will differ.
IIRC your run of the mill red led can handle down to 180 ohms while 220 is the close standard.
If you put a 1k resistor parallel with a 220 the result would be 180.
Trouble is that your resistors have TOLERANCE which is typically 5% or 10% but can be closer. So that 220 ohm resistor may really be 200 ohms and the 1k maybe be 900 making the final 163 ohms. The pin just might outlast the led!
You also need to make sure your circuit draws 40mA max and not sustain that. The smart call is 20mA or less from a pin but hey you can use almost no power from the pin and drive the led with a transistor powered through your 5V or external power. And for real bright leds, you need a whole constant current circuit and external power.
But if you want to know what you're doing, the Evil Mad Scientist can set you straighter than that:
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2012/resistors-for-leds/
I understand he's got a nice set of books and no, I'm not him by miles.
CSGuy:
So I found some 0 Ohm resistors... I am wondering what the point is? Why would someone use a 0 Ohm resistor in their project?
They are used a lot in industry to replace components that might be needed in a circuit. For example you might want to make provision for having an inductor in a decoupling circircut if needed. The zero ohm link allows you to make the circuit initially without it in and then put in the component later if needed. You might want to make provisions for a voltage regulator or an oscillator on the PCB but not populate the placings and a zero ohm link bypasses the circuit.
In other words they are the electronic engineeres get out of jail free card.
We used to wind up the purchasing department by insisting that we wanted 1% zero ohm links not those rubbish 5% ones. XD
I had a friend that would get secretaries and execs to use smaller fonts so their documents would be sure to fit floppy disks. But I ask, is that ethical treatment of the technically challenged?
We used to wind up the purchasing department by insisting that we wanted 1% zero ohm links not those rubbish 5% ones
This would be the electrical equivalent of sending an appy to the stores for a long weight....
Well we used to say a long stand.
CSGuy:
Thanks. I just talked to Mouser support and they said I could use them as jumper wires, but I was confused why they would even be made. I'm just starting out with electronics and they seemed pointless to me, but I'm sure there is a reason they exist.
Sometimes you have to fool the pick&place machines...
fungus:
Sometimes you have to fool the pick&place machines...
Darn things just refuse to work with leftover lead cuttings.
Well I just ordered a box of 1,000 of them. I think they'll be neat to play around with on a few projects. I've been looking at several websites and I can't find many places aside from Mouser.com that actually sells 0 Ohm. I contacted another company and they told me that 0 Ohm resistors didn't exist.
I got all the parts to make those Throwies too. Those look kind of neat.
Edit: So how come I don't need a resistor when I build a Throwie?
So the negative resistors is how they make alternating current? 
Apparently you can get the 0 Ohm resistors in +/- 1% too... Just in case...